


Honesty

by Ulqueleh (Ulquii)



Series: It hurts to love you [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Confrontations, Crushes, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Or Is It?, Overprotective Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is engaged to man, Unrequited Keith/Shiro (Voltron) - Freeform, Unrequited Love, matt holt is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:01:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26940037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulquii/pseuds/Ulqueleh
Summary: “I couldn’t do anything, Matt,” he said, pointer finger and thumb going to the bridge of his nose, “You knew I couldn’t do anything. Keith was just a kid and I was-”“Very stupid,” he interrupted, rolling his eyes, “Stupid enough to keep going behind Adam instead of seeing what you had in front of you.”
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Shiro/Curtis (Voltron), Shiro/Man (Voltron)
Series: It hurts to love you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965667
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	Honesty

**Author's Note:**

> Hewwooooo 
> 
> Part 2 of the angsty stuuuuff! 
> 
> I have to say I marked the underage because there's mentions of keith being a kid, buuuut what Shiro meant with it was that he was too young and he didn't know any better, so, yeah, there's actually no underage thing in here, Keith was 18 when he fell in love with Shiro.
> 
> Enjooooooy!

He doesn’t know how much time he spent seated there, rubbing his back and hair until his sobs quieted down to heavy sighs, but it was time enough for him to hear the front door open, a couple of tiny giggles being clearer after the squeak from the hinges. 

“Only a few minutes, Takashi,” he heard, bitterness filling his chest at the cloying tone. 

A kiss and a muffled laugh. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly, his voice breathy, “Keith is staying with me and I wouldn’t like to inconvenience him.” 

He heard him hum contemplatively, and after murmuring something too low to be heard from where he was seated, he heard Shiro gasp. 

“Oh, Curtis...” Shiro sighed, a couple of kisses echoing from the front door to the empty silence of the apartment, “No, no, no. Enough.” 

A huff and the shift of clothes, a last kiss being heard. 

“Good night, darling,” he wished, making the tension on his shoulders loosen a little, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” he heard him, the anger bubbling his insides, “See you tomorrow.” 

The sound of the door closing and a dreamy sigh made him tighten his fists, and, carefully, he adjusted the limp body glued to his, holding onto his clothes, in the couch, hoping he wouldn’t wake up after having to pull his shirt away from his gripping fingers. 

“O-oh, Matt,” he heard Shiro from the entryway, clearly surprised by seeing him still there, “You’re here.” 

He turned to him, watching his expression closely —he could see that he was bashful of Matt hearing his conversation with Curtis at the door, both obviously very excited with the idea of being engaged. But his face crumbled quickly the moment he saw the stern expression on Matt’s face. 

“Matt?” he called, walking to them and giving a glance to Keith’s figure sleeping on the couch, “What-” 

He trailed off, his eyes locked on the trails of tears on Keith’s cheeks, and his face twisted in worry immediately. 

“What... what happened?” he asked, taking a few steps closer to the couch and his left hand reaching for Keith, “Why is Keith-” 

Matt gripped his wrist before he could touch him, though, and pushed him away from him. His fingers tightened on Shiro’s arm and even when he knew his strength didn’t compare to Shiro’s, Shiro winced. 

“Matt? What are you-” 

“What were you thinking?” 

Shiro frowned, confused, and Matt roughly released his arm, making him step back. 

“What do you-” 

“How dare you?” he interrupted harshly, nose wrinkled and mouth twisted in anger, “How can you be so fucking blind?” 

Shiro hesitated, looking at Matt and then to Keith. 

“What...” 

“Don’t play dumb,” he scoffed, fists tightening on his sides, “You knew. You have always known. But you never dared to do something about it.” 

He didn’t answer, eyes lost on Keith, mind going over and over that thing he never cared to admit, over that thing he always tried to ignore. 

“I...” he started, quiet and shaky, his gaze caught on the dry tears, “did this?” 

Matt scoffed, bitter, and brought a hand to his face, rubbing his forehead. 

“Really,” he muttered before looking up and glare at him with all the retained anger he started accumulating ever since the proposal in front of him and their friends, since the news of his new boyfriend, since the first time he saw Keith’s eye glimmer with the sole mention of Shiro, “I can’t believe what a coward you are.” 

Shiro opened his mouth, closing it after wincing, and he shook his head. 

“I couldn’t do anything, Matt,” he said, pointer finger and thumb going to the bridge of his nose, “You knew I couldn’t do anything. Keith was just a kid and I was-” 

“Very stupid,” he interrupted, rolling his eyes, “Stupid enough to keep going behind Adam instead of seeing what you had in front of you.” 

Shiro looked up then, eyes hardened in ire. 

“Keith was a _kid_ ,” he insisted, “I thought those feelings were immature, Matt, just a crush. I wasn’t going to act on them when Keith was so _young_.” 

“And what about after Kerberos?” 

Matt saw him flinch, blinking a few times. 

“What?” 

“Why didn’t you do something then?” he asked, his brow so furrowed it made his head ache, “Why didn’t you do something after?” 

“I wasn’t going to take advantage of his feelings!” he exclaimed suddenly, making him jump, “I didn’t want to hurt him!” 

“And that’s exactly the problem!” he yelled back, seeing him step back, “How the fuck do you want him to get over you if you don’t give him a proper answer?!” 

Shiro gasped, glancing at Keith and making sure he was still asleep despite the screams. 

“Listen, Shiro,” Matt asked stepping closer, but Shiro looked away. 

“How could I...” 

“Shiro,” Matt called him, but he kept muttering below his breath. 

“I always wanted what was best for him,” he said shaking his head, “I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t-” 

“No, Shiro! Listen to me!” Matt yelled, taking him from the shoulders and shaking him, “Actually listen to me!” 

Shiro turned to him, eyes open wide and skin pale, even below the blush of alcohol. Like he’s seen a ghost. 

“You’re protecting him too much,” he explained, trying to soften his voice, “You’re protecting him so much you’re actually hurting him.” 

Shiro took a short breath, his gaze diverting to where Keith was sleeping. And even if Matt hated that he didn’t look at him in the eye, he knew he was paying attention. 

“I’m not saying you have to force yourself to correspond,” he continued, closing his eyes and tightening the hands over Shiro’s shoulders, “The only thing I ask for is for you to be honest with him. Take him in count. That for once in your life you look at him in the eye and don’t block out what you’ve always blocked ever since you knew about his feelings for you.” 

Shiro let out a sigh, shaky, the start of a sob caught at the end of it. 

“But... I... 

“And if what you’re blocking,” he muttered, slipping his hands away from him and shaking negative his head, “is something mutual, you have to end that engagement immediately and talk to Keith.” 

Shiro frowned, his eyes going back to Keith. 

“But if it really is unrequited,” Marr said, his voice cracking, “you have to let him know the best way possible.” 

Shiro mouthed, hands becoming fists. 

“Keith doesn’t deserve that you can’t affront your own feelings with honesty,” he finished, palming the center of his chest and huffing, “He doesn’t deserve to be hurt that way.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject) (including the [LLF Comment Builder](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/commentbuilder)), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates responses, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author replies to comments.
> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason (sometimes I feel shy when I’m reading and not up to starting a conversation, for example), feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!
> 
> ~
> 
> Come and yell with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ulqueleh)!


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